Deloitte, known for Canada’s Best Managed Companies award program announces the 2015 Canadian Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions.

Started in 2001, Deloitte’s TMT Predictions provide an outlook on the 10 most influential trends for the TMT industry over the course of the next year. For the full report, click here. To access past reports, click here.

The press release discusses research practices and states, “Deloitte’s TMT Predictions are based on worldwide research supported by in-depth interviews with clients, industry analysts, global leaders and more than 8,000 Deloitte member firm TMT practitioners. Over the last five years, Deloitte was more than 79 percent accurate with its TMT predictions.”

#MrTMT

Meet Duncan Stewart, undoubtedly, the expert in forecasting all things technology, media, and telecommunications. As Director of Research, TMT, he travels the word on speaking engagements about the impact of new and existing technology. He focuses on demographics and advises clients about emerging trends in order to adjust their business strategies. With an effective slogan, “Anticipate the future. Strategize and adapt. Thrive,” Stewart prepares organizations for the future.

If you have an opportunity to sit in on one of his seminars, you won’t regret it. You’ll walk away with a fresh perspective, and you’ll find yourself analyzing everything around you.

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His presentation is like none other-witty, upbeat, humorous-with a powerful message. His stage presence is engaging and keeps audience members thirsty for more. At a recent seminar hosted in London, Ontario by the London Economic Development Corp (LEDC), the audience was roaring and hanging on to every word (something rare in today’s society with an average attention span less than that of a goldfish). There were no lulls in his performance, and all eyes were glued to his commanding presence. Snapd captured the sold-out event.

Secret Sauce

What makes Duncan Stewart stand out is his ability to connect technology to real life situations. He answers the question, “how does this affect me?”, or more commonly translated as “how will this benefit me?” He doesn’t just spout numbers. He delivers statistics in a way that makes the audience understand and relate.

At first you may shudder at the thought of sitting through a lecture on data (sounds scary, doesn’t it?), but he won’t disappoint. He makes “techy” cool, well, at least sound cool.

Stewart was happy to discuss the possibilities for the future of media. His open door policy and inviting nature makes him approachable and easy to talk to. In an era of increasing privacy concerns, he lays out all his contact information for the public to view making him accessible through various mediums. Learn more about Duncan here.

Noticeably, his contact page includes social media links and recent tweets. Like the saying, you are what you eat, Stewart embodies everything media. #MrTMT

Check out this creative musical fact sheet Deloitte TMT created. Stewart also has a series of captivating videos to watch. He discusses everything from 3D printing, smartphone batteries and upgrades, millennial media spending, and drones.

This infographic highlights the top predictions:

Deloitte also uses SoundCloud as part of their social media strategy.

IoT

Segment 5 discusses the Internet of Things. The buzzword is circulating around the globe, but many people or businesses still don’t understand IoT. Stewart breaks the concept down by giving easy examples to follow.

In a telephone interview, Stewart offered his thoughts on IoT and what it means to the consumer. He didn’t hesitate to say IoT is a “tough one”. Still in its early stages, he believes IoT centres around “enterprise, not consumer technology”.

When referring to the consumer, with honesty, he states, “they don’t care or know, or they don’t want to set it up, interpret it, or use it. They want to see the data.”

He gave me an example of what a consumer might say: “I look at the traffic on the 401, so I take the 407 instead”. Consumers expect IoT to be “useful and comprehensible”. They just want to understand the information with little hassle.

With this observation in mind, it appears as though IoT is going to have to do a better job of representing itself to the public in order for it to succeed. My prediction is that IoT may go through a re-branding process in order to change the public’s perception for adoption.

Stewart commented on the future direction that social media will take in the business world. He says, “social media is up and to the right. Companies are finally thinking it’s important.”

He went on to discuss factors surrounding social media such as time spent, number of sessions, influencing consumers, and engaging with followers. He believes social media “will be an order of magnitude 5 years down the line.”

When discussing the technologies that will facilitate future social media, he thinks it will be the same as today. He claims, “ten years from now will look a lot like today…from a technology perspective.” He mentioned wearables, head mounted and wrist mounted devices, virtual and augmented technology. He says, “it’s interesting, but some people will do that. It’s not about a niche, rather mass marketed phenomenon.”

Duncan Stewart comments on the power of digital media and mass customization.

He also dismissed the idea of “the future is mobile: Mobile first. Mobile only.” He told me the data on young people ages 15-25 shows that they are attached to their laptops for a multitude of purposes such as streaming videos, TV, downloading music, video games, and writing essays.

He said, “if you look at the actual data, they use mobile a lot for social media. It’s not about either/or…it’s about AND…PC and mobile.”

Small Businesses Up to Bat

In his early years as an investor, he shared a story about using Bloomberg. At the time, there were only a few companies able to afford this software, giving small business a disadvantage. Social media has opened the doors for SMEs with the advent of Netflix, conference calls on Facebook, and news results on Twitter.

Exploring the role social media plays in small business, Stewart offered a striking comment by saying it has been “transformative-leveling the playing field for very large and small businesses.”

With that said, smaller companies would be wise to take advantage of all the social media tools at their disposable (many of which are free).

Social Snacking

The original video below captures Duncan’s recent performance. He discusses how millennials are consuming sports on social media instead of traditional television. My favourite line: “They’re snacking; they don’t sit down for the meal.”

“In today’s society, both executives and consumers are time-conscious, and because of this, short-form videos can be crucial for marketing products or services.

Short-form videos are typically less than 10minutes long and they aim to provoke a response or inspire viewers. This type of video is perfect for distributing on social media outlets and is particularly well suited to B2C companies.

According to a ComScore report, short-form videos are currently the most popular type of video watched online. The average internet user watches 22 hours of video per month, and a majority of those videos are short.”

With worldwide popularity, social media has evolved quickly. Now that social media is deeply embedded into our lives-personal and business-understanding the environment and impact is more crucial than ever.

Lessons for Others

Take it from the pros! Use the studies and data to your advantage. Stay current on trends.

Do you research. Pay attention. By understanding what’s hot in the industry, businesses can make the right decisions.

The future is closer than we think. Pack your bags with information. Take the right turn, and enjoy the ride!